Ben Junior: Meg's Revelation
by RobinLady-in-Waiting
Summary: Third in the series. After moving to Chicago, Meg and Benton get sent away on vacation with help from Ben Jr., Aunt Maggie and Uncle Ray.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chicago, Illinois**_

_**The Present ….**_

Meg brought her cup of tea over to the sofa and sat down beside Benton. The History Channel played an old program about Egypt, the volume barely audible.

"Ben's doing homework, I read his essay for Civics class, it's very well written." She sipped piping hot chamomile before pulling her feet up on the couch beneath her.

"He's been working on it most of the semester." Benton responded without looking at Meg. His hand came to rest on her knee; a gentle warmth and weight. Meg and Benton often sat curled up on the couch after dinner in companionable silence. They felt comfortable with themselves and each other-finally.

"I can't believe he'll be graduating next spring and going to college." Meg sighed, setting her mug down. Benton turned the television off and shifted to face Meg.

"Tempus fuget." The Mountie leaned his elbow on the back of the couch, peering deeply into Meg's dark eyes.

"Time flies." His deep blue still gave Meg a thrill when he looked at her so intensely.

"Let's not waste another moment." She smiled, leaning forward for a kiss. Benton had only improved his kissing talent with age. He left Meg dazed and smiling like a teenager every time.

"Hey, Dad …." Ben stopped in his tracks, paperback dictionary in hand.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry." He whirled around.

Meg pulled back immediately, embarrassed. Benton hung his head, taking a deep breath before looking up at Meg.

"What is it, Ben?" Benton asked his only child and namesake.

"I, uh, how do you spell 'accept', I've tried looking it up under 'a' and 'e' but I'm not sure." Ben handed his father the dictionary, avoiding eye contact with Meg.

"Here you are." Benton turned to the page quickly.

"Thanks, Dad." Ben took the dictionary and turned around. Two steps later he turned back.

"If you want privacy, I can go stay at Aunt Frannie's, I don't mind." He looked from one adult to the other. His dad and Meg had been a couple for a while but never seemed to spend time alone.

"I should go home, I have homework due tomorrow." Meg looked up at Ben with a tired expression.

"It's okay if you want to spend the night together, doing, well, what I mean is, if you wanted to, well, you know what I mean." Ben blushed. He couldn't talk about sex any better than his father. The mere thought of his dad and Meg going any farther than kissing made him light headed.

"We will let you know, now don't forget to brush your teeth before bed." Benton changed the subject. He wasn't any more comfortable with the subject than Ben.

"Goodnight, Meg, I'll see you tomorrow." Ben waved before walking to his bedroom.

"Goodnight, Ben, sleep well." She answered, watching him leave.

"Hmm, where were we?" Benton pulled her attention back to romantic matters as the bedroom door closed.

"I was just about to get up and go home for the night." Meg answered, stretching her limbs.

"It's still early." Benton purred, his eyes skimming down her cheek, to her swan neck and the modest V of her blouse. He slowly ran his tongue across his bottom lip, raising his hand to touch her cheek.

"Benton, let's not stop something we can't finish." Meg whispered, laying her hand over his. It frustrated them both to let the fire die.

"Perhaps we could plan a weekend getaway after this semester." Benton suggested, hoping to alleviate her stress.

"I can't take off work, I've been there less than a year." Meg shook her head, refusing something she'd wanted for years.

"You don't work weekends that I'm aware of." Benton pointed out, taking her hand.

Meg closed her eyes, summoning her courage. This was an inevitable conversation she'd been dreading for months.

"I want to, Benton, but I'm just not ready for," she paused, staring down at her hands, "I'm not ready to be intimate. It's been, I haven't since before …." Flustered, she spoke with her hands.

"Since before Iraq." Benton finished quietly.

Meg could only nod. She had put her sexual side away when she came back to Canada.

"I'd still like to spend time alone with you, no expectations." Benton offered, taking her in a loose hug.

Smiling a bit, Meg hugged him back. "Okay, that I can do." She laid her cheek against his shoulder, relieved.

"I'll walk you to your car." Benton laced his fingers with hers. Together they walked down to the street. After a lingering, goodnight kiss they parted for the night. Benton stood on the cracked cement sidewalk, watching Meg's car melt into traffic beyond his block. He shoved his hands deep into his jeans pockets. He hated watching her leave.

"Hey, Dad." Ben shuffled between his bedroom and the bathroom. He yawned, blinking a few times.

"Goodnight, Ben." Benton closed the front door behind him softly.

The younger Fraser stopped short of his bedroom. He noted his father's thoughtful expression.

"Is Meg okay, I heard you talking." Ben shuffled into the living room.

"She's fine, son, just heading home." Benton answered carefully.

Ben looked over at his father. He knew when the Mountie had something on his mind, not to mention he had the freaky, famous Fraser family hearing.

"She's under a lot of stress, isn't she?" Ben leaned against the arm chair, staring openly at his father.

"Yes, she is, between counseling and her college courses she's overworked." A statement of truth, yes, but only the surface.

"She'll be done with classes soon." He chose to look at the bright side.

"I should go on to bed." Ben stretched before ambling back to his room.

"Goodnight, Ben."

"Sleep tight, Dad." Father and son wished each other.

Benton sat up a while longer, thinking of Meg and her reluctance to become intimate. Eventually, he shelved his concerns and went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Meg's Apartment …**_

Meg dragged herself to home, mentally prepared to spend half the night writing her finals paper. Before stepping onto the elevator, an invention she felt very thankful for, she stopped to check her mail. At first she didn't recognize the address on her only missive -Alaska, but the sender's name rang a bell.

"What is Victoria Metcalf doing writing me a letter?" Meg hitched her backpack on her shoulder before opening the letter.

_Margaret Thatcher,_

_ I received a letter from Ben today. He tells me Benton has become serious about you, that he loves you. I find it hard to believe, knowing Benton as I do. I've known him far longer than you. He won't choose you over his duty or our son. Benton is first and foremost a Mountie and a father. You will always come in third place. Is that enough to build a life on? ~ Victoria_

Meg read the letter twice, puzzled by it the first time and angered the second. How dare Victoria warn her away from Benton. Meg's first thought prompted her to take the letter to Benton's apartment. Her better judgment elbowed that aside. She didn't want to be the jealous, bitter girlfriend tattling.

"I suppose she's entitled to her opinion." Meg growled, shoving the letter in her purse.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Eighth Period**_

Ben turned his Civics paper in with all due trepidation. The ten page paper counted as fifty percent of his final. Mrs. Spencer seemed to enjoy picking apart assignments.

"Thank you, Ben, have a good weekend." The raw boned woman gave him an encouraging smile as he stepped out the door.

"You too, Mrs. Spencer." He feigned a smile.

On his way through the crowded hall, Ben saw his friend, Victor, coming from one direction and Rena McCoy from the other. Ben froze in his tracks. His mouth went dry and he forgot his locker combination.

"Benny, what's up?" Victor asked as usual, his backpack sliding off one thin shoulder. "Ben, you in there?" Victor clapped a hand roughly on his shoulder.

"Huh?" The young man asked as Rena rounded a corner and drifted away.

"Wow, Ben you have it bad for her." Victor elbowed his friend, snickering.

"I do not." Ben declared, his face red.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Victor snorted, unlocking his locker.

"What are you planning this weekend?" Ben changed the subject, quickly unlocking his combination lock.

"Nothing much, probably gonna do a bunch of extra credit for Spencer." Victor shrugged. He could make straight A's if he chose. Instead, he checked out girls and kept track of the NBA.

"What are you doing?" The pair walked toward the front exit. Constable Fraser waited for them outside.

"Playing hockey, right, Dad?" The boy grinned broadly when he saw his father.

Fraser held the door for one of the other parents; a woman in her late forties. She smiled and batter her eyelashes.

"Yes, Mr. Crook has asked us to dinner Saturday." Fraser took Ben's backpack, resting it easily on one shoulder.

"Maggie is expecting our call this evening." Fraser looked forward to talking to his half sister and her husband, Ray Kowalski.

"She is, isn't she." Just the people Ben needed to talk to for help sending Meg and Benton on a three day vacation.

_**Dinner Time … **_

Ben and Fraser sat down to steamed vegetables and pot roast. Dief licked his chops as Benton carved the tender, spiced meat. Ben's eyes danced as they spent a moment of thankful silence before digging in.

"When do you anticipate a report card?" Benton began. He'd read Ben's Civics paper the night before. How could he receive anything less than an A?

"Friday. All final grades are due in the guidance counselors office by Wednesday." Ben answered, reminding himself to pull his elbows off the table.

"I'll send your mother a copy, she'll be pleased at your progress." Benton looked back to his plate. Victoria Metcalf was still a sore subject.

From then on, dinner conversation turned to the ACT's, the SAT's and college choices. Secretly, Benton hoped and prayed his son would stay in the city for college. He enjoyed having him in his life more than he could ever express.

Ben washed the dinner dishes while his father dried and put them away. They worked in companionable silence until the phone rang. Benton pulled the brickish, cellular device from his jodhpurs pocket.

"Hello, Constable Fraser speaking." He heard Ray's voice on the other end. They talked a while, leaving Ben to finish the dishes. They boy couldn't wait to talk to his Uncle Ray. The former detective would be game for 'Operation Getaway'.

"Ben, Maggie asked for you." Benton stepped into the kitchen as his son dried the last dish; the slow cooker lid.

"Thank you, Dad." Ben handed him the dish towel and clear lid.

"Hey, Aunt Maggie." He strolled to his bedroom. Ben considered sending a letter but decided to risk talking on the phone. He didn't want his father's keen ears to over hear his plan.

"I'm fine." Ben answered before launching into his request. "I want to send Dad and Meg on a weekend getaway. Will you help me?" The boy held his breath. He hoped Uncle Ray had heard him over speaker phone.

"Whatchya need, buddy?" Ray's voice came though loud and clear.

"Uncle Ray, hello. I'm not certain yet. Dad won't like the idea of leaving the state, he and Meg both have to work. Plus, I love Aunt Frannie's house but you know how it is over there. Dief doesn't like the smaller kids pulling on him all the time." The old wolf had begun to show his age in the last few months. Arthritis had settled in his back and hips, slowing him down.

"Yeah, poor fella. Give me and Maggie a couple days to see what we can come up with. We'll call, make a few plans with you." Ray promised. They talked for a little longer, catching up on a week's worth of happenings.

Ben knew he and Maggie would discuss it. Maggie would discuss and Ray would wheedle and sweet talk until she saw it his way.

"Thank you kindly, Aunt Maggie, Uncle Ray." Ben felt confident about 'Operation Getaway'.

As usual, the Mountie worked his way through a hectic week split between the consulate, Ben and the Twenty-seventh Precinct. With so much on his plate, he had little time to think of Meg's intimacy problems or how to solve it. On Friday, Benton and Ben made their monthly call to Victoria. The jailed bank robber noted the weariness in her former lover's voice. She hesitated to ask the cause. They'd come to an understanding that their only common ground and goal was Ben. They didn't meddle in each other's lives. When Benton left the room to answer the door, Victoria turned to her son for answers.

"Is Benton okay, he seems tired." She sounded casual to anyone who didn't know her. Ben sighed.

"Yeah, Dad's fine, he and Meg have both been busy." Ben shrugged. The fifteen year old seemed a lot more confident and content since moving to Chicago two years before. He'd learned about himself and enjoyed the stability and support Fraser provided. Ben had Maggie and Ray K, as well as the Vecchio family to help him along the way.

"Oh, how are they doing these days?" Sarcasm filled her voice. Benton and Meg weren't Victoria's favorite subject.

"They're fine." Ben answered neutrally. He didn't go into specifics about his father's relationship.

"Is there anything you need, Mom?" Ben changed tack. He could see his mother's restless, hazel eyes and still long, mass of curls. Over the years a few lines had appeared, but not to mar her beauty.

"More time with you." She smiled. They bid each other goodnight with love.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Friday …**_

Report cards were handed out the last period of the day. Ben studied his as he walked out of Mrs. Spencer's class. He'd earned an A in her class and a respectable B+ in Geometry. For the most part, Ben kept an A/B average. What he didn't understand in school, his father helped him with in the evenings.

"Hey, how'd you do?" Victor asked, coming up beside his best friend.

"Okay, I guess, how about you?" Ben answered, quickly unlocking his locker.

"Ah, the usual, I'll probably be grounded for the next couple of weeks." Victor shrugged, fumbling with his combination lock.

"Why don't you try to do better in class, then your father wouldn't have any reason to ground you." Ben pointed out logically. Both boys pulled the books they'd need out of their locker and whatever else they needed for the weekend. In unison, they closed their locker doors.

"Is your dad waiting outside?" Victor asked, shouldering his backpack.

"Yes, he's as predictable as an alarm clock." Ben answered with a sigh. He couldn't wait to talk to Uncle Ray again, to plan for 'Operation Getaway'.

Rena walked down the hallway toward the boys, her long, dark hair bouncing as she hurried to her locker. Ben couldn't tear his eyes away from her. They passed, blue eyes locked with dark brown ones. Ben forgot to breath, forgot his surroundings. He saw each freckle across her nose, the bubble gum pink lip gloss shining on her full lips, the dangling heart earrings that matched her printed sweater. Her sugary perfume filled the air, making him dizzy. Rena giggled when Ben ran into the heavy duty, fifty gallon garbage can situated in the center of the hallway. Victor laughed until he became hoarse.

"You okay, Benny?" The scrawny Chicagoan asked as he gasped for breath. Ben held his stomach where he'd slammed into the waist high can.

"Yeah, I'm fine I guess." He answered, embarrassed and confused.

"That chick is gonna be the death of you." Victor coughed, clutching his chest.

_"What a way to go then."_ Ben thought to himself.

After School ….

"Hello, Uncle Ray." Ben greeted.

"Hey, Benny said you got your report card today, how'd ya do?" The former detective had done a fair job in high school, keeping a 3.0 average.

"I made a B plus in Geometry and an A in Civics." Ben crowed, his voice cracking.

Ray grinned, thinking, "Ain't puberty grand!"

"Did you and Aunt Maggie talk about a getaway?" Ben cut to the chase.

"Yes, we did." Maggie cut in, "I've sent a link to a few more web page links to your e-mail for bed and breakfasts."

"Thank you kindly, Aunt Maggie, I'll look at them tomorrow." Ben gave her a rundown of his grades before saying good-bye.

When Ben walked into the living room, he saw his father staring out the kitchen window. Dief lay beside him, snoring loudly.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ben asked, stepping up beside him.

Benton turned, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Nothing interesting." He shrugged, hands clasped behind his back.

"Meg?" Ben guessed.

"Yes." The elder Fraser turned back to the window.

"Is she alright?" Ben had come to like the retired, lady Mountie. He didn't want anything less than the best for her.

"She's fine, I'm simply thinking about her, nothing more."

Ben looked down at Dief. The old wolf twitched his ears, dreaming.

"I wanted to surprise you, but Aunt Maggie, Uncle Ray and I have been planning a three day getaway for you and Meg." Ben confessed. He swallowed hard, watching his father's reaction.

"That isn't necessary, Son," Benton began.

"I want to, you need a vacation. We've been looking at bed and breakfasts nearby, you could check-in on Friday after work and come back Monday." Ben persisted with his carefully thought out argument.

"Alright, if you insist, but you'll have to schedule it with Meg, she may not be so easily swayed." Benton gave his son a fatherly side hug. He couldn't contain his pride and love for the boy. Ben blessed him daily.

_**Monday …**_

Ben met Victor in the cafeteria for breakfast, as usual.

"Hello, Victor, how are you?" The gangly slacker gave him an unamused eye roll.

"I've got dish and trash duty for a month, no allowance and no games on TV during the play offs." Victor leaned against the stainless steel railing between him and the sneeze guard. "Ma asked me why I couldn't be more like you. I told her it was because I'm not half-Canadian." He took two cartons of chocolate milk from the refrigerator.

"That's not fair …."

"Well, I _wanted _to tell her that, I couldn't get a word in." Victor and Ben moved along the line. "Ma woulda rung my bell if I'd said that." Together they walked past the lunch lady and into the throng of students near the entrance to the cafeteria.

"If I'm ever un-grounded, do you want to …." Ben stopped in his tracks. Rena and her best friend walked through the door. The boy sighed; he could smell her cotton candy body spray across the cavernous space.

"Hey, Buddy, you in there?" Victor nudged Ben's arm.

"Yes, what?" Ben murmured, still under Rena's spell.

"I said, do you want to stay over one night?" Victor enunciated dramatically.

"Yes, I'd like that. I wanted to ask you if Dief and me could stay over Dad and Meg go away for the weekend anyway." Ben followed Victor to their usual seat along the fringes.

"Sure, sounds good, I'll have to ask Ma about Dief though."

The pair ate breakfast, Ben watching Rena the whole time.

"Ben, man, she's gonna think you're a creep if you don't stop watching her." Victor leaned in to speak low.

"No, I was …" Ben shrugged, yeah, he had been watching her. "She probably thinks I'm a creep already." He sighed.

"We're fifteen, there'll be other girls, Benny." Victor crushed his second chocolate milk carton before standing up.

"I suppose you're right." Ben ceded, _"But they won't be as pretty as Rena."_ He thought.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Monday Night ….**_

Meg sat on the couch half asleep; Dief snoring at her feet.

"Should I ask her after dinner or during?" Ben whispered, reaching for plates in the cabinet.

"Putting off a task only makes it worse." Benton caught himself sounding like his father.

"Okay, I'll do it after I set the table." Ben turned, shoulders slumped.

"I've found she's much more receptive after eating." Benton recommended. The boy gave him a brief, hopeful smile.

After dinner, Benn took his usual seat in the arm chair while Meg and Benton settled down on the love seat. Meg had turned the radio to a classical station to soothe her frazzled nerves. She sat with her reading glasses perched on her nose and her laptop on her knees.

"Meg, are you busy?" Ben began, seated on the edge of the dark brown cushion.

"Yes, but I'm glad to stop for a minute." She set the laptop on the coffee table along with her glasses. "What's on your mind?" She pulled her feet up beneath her. Benton laid a lazy hand on her knee; partially to keep from being hit but mostly to connect to her.

"You and Dad have been a couple for a while, right?" The boy's blue eyes studied Meg closely. He rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Yes, about a year, why?" She looked to Benton who continued to read a book about entomology.

"You never spend any time alone, so I think you should go on a vacation. Together, without me or Dief." Ben stopped, now came the hard part.

"Benton, did you know about this?" Meg questioned, her 'Inspector' tone creeping in.

"Let Ben finish." He peered at her above his book, amused.

"Your spring break is in two weeks, Aunt Maggie and Uncle Ray have helped me reserve a room for you at a bed and breakfast a couple hours outside the city." Ben rushed to finish, "You see, you wouldn't really be gone very long." He finished, running his tongue across his lower lip.

Meg sat, floored. She hadn't suspected Ben felt like that. How could she refuse him?

"I'll have to talk to my boss about my schedule first, but I don't see why not." Meg beckoned the teen into a hug. Sheepishly, Ben gave in.

"How are you paying for this?" Meg studied Ben, holding him at arms length a moment.

"He's saved every cent anyone's ever given him." Benton interjected proudly.

"Ray Vecchio and Stella send money from Florida instead of gifts." Ben shrugged, grinning. No one knew what to give him, so they gave money.

"Plus, my allowance and the money I've earned mowing lawns and shoveling snow."

"He's acquired quite a sum the last three years." Benton added.

"Nine hundred, eighty-seven dollars and seventeen cents, as of yesterday." Ben rattled off.

_"He's more like Benton everyday."_ Meg thought fondly. "I'll let you know what my boss says tomorrow, okay." She turned loose of the teen.

"Okay." Ben nodded affirmatively.

Tuesday, Meg knocked on her boss' door. It had taken her a while to adjust to life as an employee. She had her own office, but it wasn't the boss' office anymore.

"Hey, Shana, do you have a moment?" Meg began after the younger woman waved her inside.

"Sure, what's on your mind?" Shana turned away from her computer screen to give Meg her full attention. Her hazel eyes surveyed Meg expectantly.

"Benton and I would like, we," Meg paused, feeling frivolous for asking for a getaway with her boyfriend. "Benton and I have reservations for a three day weekend at the end of my spring break, I'd like to reschedule my appointments that Friday." She finished strong, pushing her reading glasses up with the back of her hand.

"Okay." Shana answered quickly with a huge grin. "You haven't taken any time off since you've been here, it's about time. A long weekend with that delicious silver fox of yours is just what the doctor ordered." She gushed. One instance of Benton bringing Meg lunch and every woman in the office swooned.

"Thank you kindly, I'll let them know in reception." Meg's eyes narrowed, cat-like and dangerous.

"Turn in your leave request to personnel." Shana sat back in her chair, head held high.

"Silver fox, how juvenile." Meg sneered under her breath as she walked past the reception desk beyond Shana's office.

After turning in her leave request, Meg gathered her purse and jacket to have lunch with Benton. She managed to slip out of the office unnoticed, avoiding the inevitable chit chat and office gossip with her co-workers.

Benton strode up the sidewalk toward the diner halfway between the rehab center and the consulate. His red serge caught everyone's attention as he passed. When he saw Meg, he waved, a welcoming smile brightening his face.

"Hello." She called, stopping at the door to the diner. Ever the gentleman, Benton opened it and let Meg through, as well as three people behind her. Meg waited off to the side of the line for him, otherwise she'd have her dinner order fifteen minutes before he did. She didn't like tomato drowned, soggy flat bread.

"Where's Diefenbaker?" Meg asked, shuffling along in line behind a bank cashier with a long list of lunch orders.

"He stayed at the consulate, he's been rather lethargic of late. He hasn't been sleeping well." Benton answered, hands behind his back as he met Meg's gaze. She momentarily lost her train of thought, as so often happened looking into his Atlantic blue eyes.

"Meg, what would you like to order?" Benton asked, redirecting her attention to the young man behind the deli counter. Discomfited, she rattled off her order and moved along to the register.

_"Blast his hide, he still turns my brain into mush."_ Meg fumed silently. He could turn her inside out with a single look. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and pull him into an indecently passionate kiss. Even after being a couple for a year, she still couldn't get enough of Constable Benton Fraser.

Taking their orders to a table in the back, Benton and Meg settled down for a few minutes down time. Benton laid his Stetson on the seat to his right while Meg laid her purse on the other spare seat. After unwrapping their orders, trading half of their sandwiches and sipping iced tea, they were ready to talk.

"I spoke to Shana before I left for lunch, she granted my leave request for our three day weekend." Meg began, biting a dill pickle slice afterward.

"Ben was excited that you accepted. He has the whole weekend scheduled to the quarter hour." Benton stole one of Meg's whole grain chips while she snagged one of his onions.

"I had no idea he thought that highly of me, the bed and breakfast must have cost him every cent he's saved." Meg wiped her chin with a paper napkin, hoping she hadn't left any barbecue sauce behind.

"I believe he sees you as a female role model in his life. I'm keen to show him that not every relationship ends as disastrously as …." The Mountie's voice trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to say Victoria's name, not to Meg.

"I believe Ben knows that, he comes from a long line of intelligent men." Meg laid a reassuring hand on his arm. "Maggie and Ray seem to be a solid couple, as do Ray and Stella, Francesca and her husband, do I need to go on?"

"Yes, those are some fine examples of good relationships, as are you and I." Ben ceded to logic. He never ceased to be amazed by Meg's brilliance, by her quick mind and soft touch, when she chose.

"You've never been more right." She agreed, returning to her sandwich.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Tuesday At School ….**_

Victor counted down the minutes until the final school bell rang. Mrs. Spencer rattled on about Napoleon and his failed invasion of Russia, or so the youth thought. He hadn't really been paying attention. Who cared about Napoleon?

Ben, on the other hand, had been listening intently. His text book didn't go into nearly enough detail to suit him. His father had recommended two others; one on Napoleon's battles and the other on the French Revolution. Benton had talked at length about the French Revolution and how it affected Canadian history.

"Alright, for homework I want you to work on questions 1,3,5,7,9 and the open response questions. Remember to use complete sentences, no text shortcuts, and a paragraph has to have a minimum of six sentences." Mrs. Spencer reminded the class before the bell rang. Her voice barely carried over the sound of students' voices and desks moving as they escaped out the door.

Ben and Victor were two of the last students to leave. They walked toward their lockers together. The scent of cigarette smoke tinged the spring air flowing through the open windows. Students talked and teachers reminded them of homework assignments.

"How did it go last night?" Victor asked, whizzing through his locker combination. He hefted his backpack up onto one, thin shoulder.

"Meg said she'd have to talk to her boss, but I think it went great. She's going to let me know tonight." Ben answered, gathering his other books for homework.

"Ben, are you busy?" A familiar, female voice asked, surprising both boys. Ben nearly swallowed his adam's apple when he turned around. Rena stood behind him, her bag slung across her shoulder.

"Rena, yes, I mean, no, um." Ben swallowed hard, chewing on his bottom lip after stuttering.

"He's not busy, what do you need?" Victor answered for him.

"I was wondering if you would help me with Geometry, I've got to get my grade up or I won't be able to play softball." Rena's soft voice didn't quite penetrate Ben's brain. All he saw were her dark eyes, long, silky hair and pink lips.

"Geometry, he's a whiz at it, he'll help out, no problem." Victor volunteered, which did penetrate.

"Help, yes, I'd like that." Ben stumbled. Rena wrote her phone number on a piece of lavender notebook paper and handed it to Ben.

"I really appreciate this, it's sweet of you to take the time." She smiled before turning to leave. Ben watched her toss her hair over her shoulder before turning the corner and disappearing into the crowd.

"Jackpot!" Victor crowed, slapping Ben on the shoulder. "She is so into you."

"Into me? No, she just needs help with her Geometry." Ben corrected, Rena's phone number still clutched in his hand.

"Yeah, right. She could have asked Mrs. Salmons or Keyur Patel for help. She could have asked you to help her at lunch. Ben, buddy, she gave you her home phone number, that's more than needing help with Geometry." Victor pointed out.

"I doubt that." Ben shook his head, closing his locker. "Dad's waiting on us." His feet may have tread the tiles, but his head plowed through the clouds.

Benton waited patiently outside the high school. Diefenbaker lay in a spot of sunshine on the sidewalk. Some of the kids bent down to pet him, which he tolerated. The Mountie wondered at his old friend's lack of begging. Over the years, they'd both gotten stiffer and grayer. Still, Dief trotted wherever Fraser chose to lead.

"Hey, Dad." Ben greeted, a bright smile on his youthful face. The Mountie saw so much of himself in the boy lately.

"Hello, how was school?" Benton adjusted his Stetson after tipping it to one of the teachers standing bus duty.

"It was great, how was the consulate?" Ben walked beside his father, Dief and Victor trailing behind.

"I spoke to Meg at lunch. Her boss approved her request for leave. She's coming over for supper tonight." Benton walked with is hands clasped behind his back. "Would you like to join us, Victor?"

"No thanks, Constable Fraser, I'm still grounded." He answered ruefully.

"Another time perhaps." Fraser let it drop.

"Tell him who gave you her number." Victor shoved Ben playfully from behind.

"Oh, a young lady gave you her number?" Benton lifted a questioning brow.

"Yes, Rena, but it's just because she needs help in Geometry."

Fraser noted a certain wistfulness in his son's voice. He knew how the boy felt. Even at his age, women were still a mystery.

"When are you going to call her?" Fraser asked, casually.

"After supper." Ben answered without reservation. Why shouldn't he call her as soon as possible?

"Nah, wait a day or two, you don't want her thinking you're her slave er somethin'." Victor interjected.

"Rena asked for help, the polite thing would be to help as soon as possible." Fraser countermanded.

"Yes, I suppose." Ben agreed half heartedly. He wanted to spend time with Rena as soon as possible but he also wanted to impress her. He didn't know what to do. _"I'll ask Meg later."_ He resolved silently.


End file.
